Sunshine Coast Business Helps Veggie Village to Power On In Summer
01 Dec 10
Renewable energy business Planet Power have helped the community garden group ‘Veggie Village’ in Peregian Beach get ready for summer by donating a solar powered water pump that will enable the gardeners to water their veggie patches more easily and sustainably. Planet Power teamed up with students from the Advanced Diploma of Renewable Energies course at the Sunshine Coast TAFE and installed the pump at the Di Hurst Oval at Peregian Beach last week.
The Veggie
Village gardeners have used a hand-operated bore pump since the
group was set up in 2007 and have been wanting a solar pump for
some time as the bore pump can be difficult for the elderly and
less able gardeners to operate. When Sam Smith, store
manager at Planet Power Noosa, joined Veggie Village to get her
own vegetable plot up and running, the desire to get a solar pump
at the community gardens became a reality.
"Not only
will the gardeners have the ability to more easily water their
veggie patches but they will now be able to tap into the
incredible power of the sun. The solar used for the pump
system will also be able to provide energy to power a laptop and
projector for when workshops or movie nights want to be held at
the gardens” says Sam Smith, store manager.
Working
alongside the Planet Power installation team, the TAFE students
gained first-hand experience and the opportunity to learn from
the experts. The solar pump has been installed just in time
for the summer months where the plants will need watering on a
regular basis.
"We are very
grateful to Planet Power for donating the pump to Veggie Village
and are excited about the difference it will make this summer and
beyond. We are also thrilled that the system will enable us to
plug in some audio-visual equipment for our workshops that anyone
from the community can attend. One of our core values is to
promote environmental sustainability using permaculture
principles so it is fantastic Planet Power have enabled us to add
another sustainable aspect to our gardens”, says Andrew Maitland,
President of Veggie Village.
"We use an
all-encompassing approach when providing solutions for our
customers, and Veggie Village was no different. We help
people make the right choices, and at the same time minimise
their personal carbon footprint, which is why we have customers
who return to us time and time again”, says Sam.
Planet Power: www.planetpower.com.au
Veggie Village: www.veggievillage.com.au
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